Bobbin holder



R. M. BLAIS BOBBIN HOLDER Oct. 24, 1950 Filed Nov. 20, 1947 j lweiao' 3 Patented Oct. 24, 1950 BOBBIN HOLDER Robert M. Blais, Biddeford, Maine, assignor to Saco-Lowell Shops, Boston, Mass, a corpora- ,7 tion of Maine Application November 20, 1947, Serial No. 787,207 7 Claims. (01. 242-130) In spinning and roving frames the roving which is fed to the spindles or fliers of a machine is drawn from large bodies of roving wound on bobbins which are supported overhead in a creel structure Some of these supply bobbins are mounted in an upright standing position while others are suspended in holders designed especially for this purpose. In either event the bobbins must be mounted to revolve freely under the pull exerted on the strands of roving and they must be easily releasable sothat the empty bobbins can be readily removed from the creel and replaced by full bobbins.

Numerous forms of suspension holders are available. Some rely on springs to hold thebobbin in its suspended position, and others employ latches for this purpose. In general those more convenient to use are rather complicated while the simpler constructions have the disadvantage of not being entirely reliable.

The present invention relates to holders of the position and it aims to devise a bobbin holder which will beexceptionally simple in construction, reliable in operation, and convenient to use.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in. connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing a bobbin holder embodying this invention; and

Fig. 2 is avertical, sectional View taken approximately onthe line 22 of Fig. 1.

In the construction illustrated in the drawings, the bobbin 2 is of the orthodox form, comprising a hollow wooden tube, but it differs from the usual constructions in having a soft iron or steel washer 3 secured to its upper end.

The holder provided by this invention includes a magnet 4 of annular or tubular form. Secured rigidly'to the upper and lower ends or poles of this magnet are annular pole pieces 5 and 6, respectively, which are made of soft steel, iron, or other suitable material. Preferably the three parts 4, 5 and 6 are secured together by a central sleeve 1 made of aluminum, copper, brass, or other non-magnetic metal, the opposite ends of this sleeve being crimped or spun over the upper and lower ends of the assembly, thus producing a magnetic unit which is pre-assembled and may be an independent article of manufacture.

The support for this unit comprises'a tubular pin 8 having a rounded lower end which serves to type designed to support a bobbin in a suspended 2 center the bobbin with relation to the holder. The upper end of this pin is turned inwardly and is supported on the shoulder of the head [0 of a bolt i2 which extends loosely through a rail or equivalent supporting element of the creel. A nut M on the upper end of the bolt cooperates with an upper washer II and a lower inverted dished washer E5 to secure the bolt in the rail, the latter washer resting on a pin it extending transversely through the shank of the bolt. Between the turned-over upper end of the pin 8 and the bolt-head ii! a ball bearing I1 is interposed, or a simple bearing washer may be used in place of it, a Nylon washer being particularly satisfactory. It'should be observed that the magnetic unit rests on an annular shoulder of the pin 8 and that both of these parts are suspended on the bearing II. The body of roving wound on the bobbin is indicated at 18. In use, the bobbin 2 and its roving loadare supported solely by the magnetic attraction exerted at the lower ends of the pole pieces 5 and 6 on the washer 3 which is fastened to the bobbin. Both th magnet, the bobbin and the entire roving body canrotate freely as the strandis drawn from the latter and is fed to the flier, traveller, or other spinning instrumentality. When the supply ofroving on the bobbin becomes depleted the operator simply grasps the lower end of the bobbin and pulls it away from the magnetic unit. She then slides a full bobbin up on to the pin 8 and into contact with the lower end of said magnetic unit where it is held firmly but releasably. It should be observed that the north and south poles of the magnet 4 are at opposite ends of it and that the pole tip faces at the lower ends of the members 5 and '6 lie in the same horizontal plane and both bear invention may be embodied in other forms withport, a magnet, means including an anti-friction thrust bearing connecting the magnet to the fixed support, a plate of magnetic material, means for fixedly mounting said plate on the upper end of a bobbin, and means for so locating the plate with respect to the magnet when the bobbin is applied to the holder, that the plate completes the flux circuit of the magnet.

2. In a pendulous bobbin holder, a fixed support, a magnet, means including an anti-friction thrust bearing connecting the magnet to the fixed support, a plate of magnetic material, means for fixedly mounting said plate on the upper end of a bobbin, and means for so locating the plate with respect to the magnet when the bobbin is applied to the holder, that the plate completes the flux circuit of the magnet, the magnet and plate being circular in form, said magnet being coaxial with the thrust bearing, and including further, means for guiding the plate into coaxial relation with the magnet.

3. A pendulous bobbin holder including a magnet, means for mounting the magnet on the underside of a creel board with freedom for rotation on a vertical axis, means including an inverted cup-shaped pole piece supporting the magnet, means including a plate member of magnetic material for completing the flux circuit of said magnet through the pole piece and means for fixedly attaching said plate member to the upper end of a bobbin.

4. A pendulous bobbin holder including an anti-friction thrust bearing, means for attaching the thrust bearing vertically to the underside of a creel board, an annular magnet polarized axially, means forsuspending the magnet ized axially, means for suspending the magnet from the thrust bearing coaxially therewith, pole pieces for the magnet in the form of nested inverted cups with spaced co-planar rims, an annular member of magnetic. material formed to engage said rims and bridge the .gap between them, means for fixedly attaching said annular member to a bobbin, and means fixed to the 4 inner pole piece for guiding the annular member into coaxial relation therewith.

6. A holder for a bobbin of a type provided with a magnetizable member at its upper end portion and an axial hole in said upper end, said holder comprising a vertical guide member adapted to enter the hole in said bobbin to center the latter relatively to the holder, a magneticunit mounted on said member, said unit comprising a tubular magnet and annular pole pieces extending from the respective poles of the magnet and terminating in concentric tips positionedto engage simultaneously said magnetizable member on the bobbin and thereby to support said bobbin in a vertical suspended position, and means cooperating with said member to support said magnetic unit for rotation around the axis of said member.

7. A holder for a bobbin of a type provided with a magnetizable washer at its upper end encircling an axial hole in said end, said holder comprising a vertical guide member adapted to enter the hole in said bobbin to center the latter relatively to the holder, means suspending said member in an approximately predetermined position, a magnetic unit mounted on said member, said unit comprising a tubular magnet and annular pole pieces extending from the respective poles of the magnet and terminating in concentrictips positioned, one inside the other, with the end faces of said tips lying in the same horizontal plane, whereby they are adapted to engage said washer on the bobbin simultaneously and thereby to support the bobbin in a vertically suspended position, and means cooperating with said member to support said unit and said bobbin forrotation around the axis of said member.

ROBERT M. BLAIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 544,110 Great Britain Mar. 27, 1942 

